Box cutter

ABSTRACT

A box cutter comprising first and second flat plates having abutting elongated edges one plate having an elongated slot parallel to said edges; means hingedly joining said abutting edges; and cutting means slidably disposed in said slot, the cutting means having a cutting blade extending through the slot at right angles to said one plate.

United States Patent 1191 1111 1 3,821,849 Grinnon July 2, 1974 [54] BOX CUTTER 2,110,194 3/1938 Blier 30/2 1 lnvemon Donald Grimm, Staten Island, NY 31532:??? 35323 33323..3:13;...............JIIJJIJ..?.9K?%B/ [73] Assignee: The Raymond Lee Organization,

New York Primary Examiner-Al Lawrence Smith [22] Filed: May 3, 1973 Assistant Examiner-Gary L. Smith 211 Appl. No.: 357,016

52 us. c1..-. 30/2, 30/290, 30/293, [57] ABSTRACT 30/294 30/314 A box cutter comprising'first and second flat plates [51] Int. Cl B26b 27/00 having abutting elongated edges one plate having an [58] Fleld 0f Search 30/2, 1649, 164.95, 286, elongated Slot parallel to Said edges; means hinged), 30/289 296 314; joining said abutting edges; and cutting means slidably 33/32 32 C 144/136 C; 83/745 disposed in said slot, the cutting means having a cut- 1 ting blade extending through the slot at right angles to [56] References Cited said one plate;

UNITED STATES PATENTS 655,630 8/1900 Lafayette 83/745 4 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures BOX CUTTER SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION My invention is directed toward a manually operable device for use in cutting open cardboard cartons, boxes and the like.

To this end, my device comprises first and second flat plates hingedly secured together along abutting aligned elongated edges. One plate has an elongated slot parallel to said edges. Cutting means is slidably disposed in the slot. The means has a cutting blade extending through the slot at right angles to the one plate.

In use, the hinge is placed over an edge of the box to be cut with the one plate in contact with the surface to be cut and the other plate in contact with the adjacent surface sharing the edge. The cutting means is then moved along the entire length of the slot to cut into the one surface. The device can then be placed over other edges and the process repeated until a section of the box can be opened or removed, exposing the contents.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of my invention;

FIG. 2 is a detail side view thereof;

FIG. 3 shows a box cut open through useof my invention; and

FIG. 4 is a detail view of the cutter used in my invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to FIGS. 1-4, a first flat plate having a longitudinally extending handle 12 is secured at one elongated edge to an abutting edge of a second plate 14 by hinge 16.

Plate 14 has a longitudinally extending slot 18 having a longitudinally extending bar 20 disposed therein. A housing 22 is slidable there along by means of a control handle 24 secured to the housing and extending outward at right angles.

Housing 22 has a slot 28 parallel to slot 18 and disposed in a side opposite to handle 24. A cutting blade 30 is disposed in the slot and is held detachably in position by set screw 32.

In order to open a box 34 having the shape of a rectangular parallel piped, the plates are disposed in position with plate 10 resting upon a top horizontal wall, plate 14 disposed along a vertical wall and the hinge 16 in contact with the horizontal edge of the box common to these surfaces.

The user grasps the handle 12 to hold the device in place and moves the handle 24 along the slot from oneend to the other whereby the blade cuts a slit in the vertical wall. This process is repeated to enable the slit to be continued along as many vertical walls as required to enable the box to be opened.

While I have described my invention with particular reference to the drawings, such is not to be considered as limiting its actual scope.

Having thus described this invention, what is asserted as new is:

l. A box cutter comprising:

first and second flat plates having abutting elongated edges, one plate having an elongated slot parallel the bar. 

1. A box cutter comprising: FIRST AND SECOND FLAT PLATES HAVING ABUTTING ELONGATED EDGES, ONE PLATE HAVING AN ELONGATED SLOT PARALLEL TO SAID EDGES; MEANS HINGEDLY JOINING SAID ABUTTING EDGES; AND CUTTING MEANS SLIDABLY DISPOSED IN SAID SLOT, SAID MEANS HAVING A CUTTING BLADE EXTENDING THROUGH THE SLOT AT RIGHT ANGLES TO SAID ONE PLATE.
 2. The cutter of claim 1 wHerein the cutting edge of the blade is parallel to the slot.
 3. The cutter of claim 2 wherein said blade is removable.
 4. The cutter of claim 2 wherein a bar is disposed longitudinally in the slot and said means is slidable along the bar. 